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Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | I have a 2000 USA-made 1771-red burst. I got it a while back from a guy I met at a Christmas party who was playing in the band. He worked some great lead licks on his SG, and also had a Preacher, but it sat on its stand for most of the night, so I asked him if he was into Ovations in particular. He was an older guy, and we chatted for a while and I told him how much I’ve enjoyed my own Ovations over the years. Later he came over and invited me to his place after the party.. so I followed him home. He must have had 30 guitars laying around.. some very nice ones.. and we partied and jammed for a bit with me playing the 1771. I mentioned that I did not currently own a cutaway acoustic of any brand, and he said, “Well, now you do. It’s yours. Take it.” I offered to trade some gear for it, but he insisted it was a gift. Case and all. Just like that. A total stranger just a few hours earlier. We live in the same town, but I haven’t actually seen him since that night. Crazy occasion.. but here it still sits in my stable. Excellent condition. Plays and sounds just peachy.
But that’s not all I came to talk about. Actually, what I would like to know about this guitar, and perhaps someone can answer, is why it is so.. incredibly.. heavy. I didn’t notice it that evening, but later I pondered that this guy must have hidden his gold inside and forgot to take it out before he gifted me the guitar. I’ve looked around the thing and everything about it seems totally normal for an Ovation except the very obvious weight. Possibly why he was so easy to part with it. The preamp is a OP-24+. Is that system especially heavy to the point where one would actually notice the weight from it? Is the top made of some kind of military grade laminate or something alike? Nothing unusual about the bowl. Just the typical deep. I don’t play it all that often, but tonight I picked it up and again instantly noticed its massive weight which prompted me to post the story about it.
I don’t read much here on the OFC about the 1771s, so maybe I’m missing something about this model. Like, maybe it’s a special edition lead pipe version of the Kaman Bar or something. Who knows? Anyone??
Edited by Love O Fair 2022-05-09 1:33 AM
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | Kaman bar? I played my 1537 yesterday for the first time in a while and I was reminded of how heavy it was. | |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | The Kaman Bar is very heavy, but it gives the neck great stability. There are people here who can talk about it helping the sound as well. I have 3 guitars with Kbar necks -- 1537, 87C, and 1688 (Adamas 12 string) -- and all are heavy. I don't tend to think about it much. My 2006 Glen Campbell reissue has the neck system that was introduced in 2004 with the LX models. It's a little bit lighter. And my 1117 from 1978 is the lightest of all with no electronics and a regular truss rod in the neck. I'm aware that the Kbar neck guitars are heavy (electronics contribute as well), but don't tend to think about it much. Somebody wrote once, "A thing is, after all, what it is, and not something else." In other words, man up, put on your big boy pants, and enjoy your guitars........
Edited by moody, p.i. 2022-05-09 10:26 AM
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | Some of the bowls are pretty heavy. They transitioned to a lighter version which the LX used, made with glass beads rather than mats of woven glass fibers. Idk if the glass bead version was in use prior to the LX. The older bowls are fiberglass as we think of it, with the mats embedded in some kind of polymer, and they were heavy. There were different eras of the fiberglass bowls too, which someone posted a lot of detail about on the forums.
My 1537 is quite heavy. 1983 construction.
I have a couple of newer hand-laid fiberglass guitars which are much lighter. The electronics weigh something for sure, so it isn't trivial, but it is only incremental.
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Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | Thank you for your replies. It's not like it requires a forklift to carry, so "big boy pants" are not an element I consider applicable to comfortably playing it. Its weight is merely quite noticeable in comparison to my other Ovation acoustics-- three of which have the K-bar (and this is the only OP-24+ I've had). But certainly no complaints. It was free and would pose no pocket loss should I someday elect donating it to law enforcement for a battering ram. I just thought that there may be something about the 1771 model I was not aware of; though in the end it is probably just a fact that it has a particular combination of components that tally up a heavy weight. | |
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